UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has urged Iraqi leaders to put aside sectarian interests and form a government of national unity. December's election results show "no party, no ethnic or religious grouping can dominate" the Iraqi government, Mr Straw said on a surprise visit. He is in Baghdad for talks with top politicians about the slow progress in forming a new coalition government. Talks have faltered over splits within and between Shias, Sunnis and Kurds. Shia leaders say they have the right to control key posts after winning 130 of the 275 seats in parliament. But Sunni Arab leaders want to ensure they are represented at a senior level, and are seeking to break the control of Shia militias on the interior ministry. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

The US Supreme Court has said it will decide whether to uphold a federal law banning certain abortion procedures. It will be the first time abortion has come before the nation's top court since President George W Bush appointed two conservative judges to the bench. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4737082.stm

At least 21 people have been killed and 27 injured in a car bomb at a market in southern Baghdad, Iraqi police say. Correspondents say the attack, apparently aimed at a police patrol in the al-Doura area, is the deadliest car bombing of civilians in weeks. The market was mostly Shia Muslim in an area torn by sectarian violence. The blast came as visiting UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged Iraqi leaders to put aside sectarianism to form a government of national unity. Doura is considered one of the most dangerous areas of the capital with bombings a regular occurrence since the Sunni Muslim-dominated militant insurgency began in 2003. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4736768.stm

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said disgraced U.S. lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize a meeting between him and President Bush in 2002, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government.Mahathir told reporters late Monday he was aware the payment was made to Abramoff, but he didn’t know who made it.“I understood some people paid a sum of money to lobbyists in America but I do not know who these people were and it was not the Malaysian government,” Mahathir said. Mahathir said that at the time he had been persuaded by the Heritage Foundation in Washington to meet with Bush because the conservative think tank believed he could help “influence (Bush) in some way regarding U.S. policies.”...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10693309/from/RSS/

The head of Colombia's army has quit amid a scandal in which superiors allegedly abused young recruits. Gen Reinaldo Castellanos resigned after a magazine printed photos of 21 soldiers apparently being tortured at a base in the eastern town of Piedras. Gen Castellanos had said earlier he was ashamed of the allegations and that those responsible would be punished. President Alvaro Uribe has named Gen Mario Montoya, commander of a Caribbean division, as his replacement. Correspondents say although Gen Castellanos, 55, immediately criticised his officers, his position had become untenable. In its Sunday edition, the weekly magazine Semana said the soldiers were branded like cattle, sexually abused, or forced to eat animal faeces. It said the victims were 18 years old and came from poor families. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4736466.stm

A white powder that caused an anthrax alert at a NATO center in Norway last week has been analyzed and found harmless, an alliance spokesman said Tuesday. The power was received Feb. 14 in a letter sent to the NATO Joint Warfare Center at the Jaataa complex in the western town of Stavanger. It triggered an alert, including medical treatment for a civilian employee who opened the letter. NATO spokesman Juergen Eise said police analyzed the powder and found it did not contain anthrax or other dangerous substances. "It was completely harmless," he said by telephone. He said he had no information about what the powder was, but that police would issue a final report sometime later. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1644549&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312